Please stand by (2017)

Summary

A young autistic woman runs away from her caregiver in an attempt to submit her manuscript to a "Star Trek" writing competition.

Genre

Drama

Country

USA

Cast

Dakota Fanning : Wendy

Toni Collette : Scottie

Alice Eve : Audrey

Director

Ben Lewin

My Score

“Like Spock, for example.
He’s half-human, half-alien.
He has trouble dealing with his emotions.
Where did it say that?
That’s just how he is.”

Although “Please stand by” is a fairly predictable film and unrestrainedly endeavors to strike a sensitive nerve, I’m all for such a type of film. The number of films about individuals with a disability, who try to survive in our society where perfection is the standard nowadays, and who succeed in making great achievements, is endless. “I am Sam“, “Forrest Gump“, “Rain Man“, “The theory of everything“, “Still Alice“, “X + Y” and “Who’s driving Doug“, to name but a few. These are all films where one feels sorry for the main character first. And after a while, you realize that these persons surpass all expectations and amaze themselves about their own abilities. Just like Wendy (Dakota Fanning), who suffers from a severe form of autism so that communicating with her environment is a huge obstacle and her daily life is determined by a strict schedule. Handing in a self-written script for a “Star Trek” episode, however, ensures that this well-ordered and well-defined life is shaken up.

Great acting by Dakota Fanning.

All due respect to Dakota Fanning. The way she played this complex character deserves all praise. She distanced herself from all the possibilities available to portray Wendy with all possible tics and ridiculous rituals. Also, the phenomenon of autism was not unnecessarily enlarged by her. Apart from the compulsive writing down of all kinds of facts in her notebook and the pattern of colorful sweaters she’s wearing on specific days, she seems to function reasonably normal. Not as Freddie Highmore who plays a similar character in “The Good Doctor” with a forced intonation making him sound like a voice computer with incorrectly installed software from Lernout & Hauspie. And yes, I know the spectrum of autism is fairly broad. But I appreciated the modesty with which Dakota Fanning played the person Wendy.

Beam me up, Scottie.

Also Toni “Miss you already” Collette played a not so bad part as Scottie who leads the home where Wendy lives. A patient and passionate person who guides each individual in this center and tries to point these individuals the right way towards a bearable personal life. It wasn’t immediately clear to me whether Scottie was her real name or a kind of a joke because of Wendy’s passion for the television series “Star Trek“. Frankly, I felt that all other characters fulfilled their job in an orderly manner. The fact they came across as plain add-ons is entirely due to the beautiful acting of Dakota Fanning of course. The entire film shows how Wendy’s trust grows and she shifts her own boundaries (even if it’s just crossing a specific street).

An adventurous quest.

“Please stand by” is not primarily about how autists handle themselves and how confusing their view on life is. The subject isn’t really thoroughly explored or explained in this area. I can’t even remember the word autism being pronounced once. Only a brief remark by a devout, old female about her grandson who displays an identical behavior. It’s actually a kind of adventurous quest with the ultimate goal of delivering the film script. And so Wendy needs to follow a path, completely normal for average people, where she meets a lot of people with bad intentions. And each time she’s saved by caring persons. Almost something like Frodo and that damn ring he had to throw in Mount Doom. Also a risky quest full of obstacles and devious creatures. But then without the autism phenomenon.

Someone get that script!

Finally, a big applause for the dog Pete who accompanies Wendy the whole way. They looked like Dorothy and Toto heading for the Wizard of Oz. Fortunately, the duo wasn’t as annoying as Reese Witherspoon and her little pooch in a pink outfit in “Legally Blonde“. And the most surprising moment was when a policeman talked to Wendy in a very remarkable way. But you have to discover that yourself when you watch this engaging and charming film.

P.S. If the script “The many and the few” really exists, I hope it’ll become a real film. The fragments of text that were read, sounded intriguing!

Thrilling trailers

Movie Newsflashes

Elton John’s story is legendary. Mostly because he survived25 May 2019 13:10MercuryBy all accounts — even his own — Elton John was a monster.
High on fame, drugs and his own stupendous ego, the singer could so easily have become another of rock’n’roll’s casualties.
History certainly hasn’t treated kindly those who thought success might …

13 movie gaffes that made their scenes much better25 May 2019 13:08The IndependentFilms are complex beasts with so many moving parts that mistakes are unavoidable. Even the blockbusters with the biggest budgets and most sets of eyes on them routinely make it to cinemas with a few errors, especially when it comes to continuity.
From …

Ayushmann Khurrana's next 'Article 15' teaser out on this day!25 May 2019 13:04Deccan ChronicleMumbai: Actor Ayushmann Khurrana who has enthralled the audience with his power-packed performances throughout his career, will now treat the audience with the teaser of his upcoming film 'Article 15' on Monday.
The teaser of Article 15 will get …

Vietnamese film wins award at Cannes Film Festival 201925 May 2019 12:57Nhan DanThe movie surpassed nine other films from around the world to win the award at the Cannes Film Festival 2019 held from May 14-25 this year. The Directors’ Fortnight section aims to honour feature, short films and documentaries that do not compete in the …

After a long battle to the theatres, Vivek Obero...25 May 2019 12:47The Economic TimesNEW DELHI: Vivek Oberoi starrer 'PM Narendra Modi' which finally made it to the big screens after much controversy, witnessed a decent box office collection on the first day of its release.
The film managed to get a lukewarm start in the morning …

Woman, who accused Karan Oberoi of rape, files c...25 May 2019 12:47The Economic TimesMUMBAI (MAHARASHTRA): The woman who accused TV actor Karan Oberoi of raping and extorting money from her was attacked by two bike-borne men on Saturday, police said.
The police also said a letter was thrown at the victim asking her to take back the case. …

Utah teens who rock: ‘There’s nothing like it’25 May 2019 12:46Now Salt LakeThere’s no Jack Black character bouncing around the room riffing about rock and urging the students to “stick it to the man.” And no unsuspecting principal about to learn the truth and ruin their upcoming gig. In fact, in this tucked-away music space in …

Lisaa movie review: An average watch25 May 2019 12:35The Asian AgeHorror is an extremely tough field to be inventive as most components of frightening flick have been tried and tested in all possible ways.
Rating:
Direction: Raju Viswanath
Cast: Anjali, Sam Jones, Yogi Babu, Makarand Deshpande
Lisaa, touted to be the …

‘Brightburn’ Squanders the Potential of Superhero Horror25 May 2019 12:34PolitickerJackson A. Dunn in Brightburn. Screen Gems
What if the super baby that Ma and Pa Kent took in turned out to be, in addition to an offspring of steel, Damien from the Omen movies, with a dash of Jason Voorhees thrown in for good measure?
That’s not just the …

BIG PLANS FOR UNPLANNED25 May 2019 12:32Jamaica ObserverThough it made its Jamaican debut on Wednesday, there are already big plans for the American movie Unplanned.
According to Father Richard Ho Lung, head of the Missionaries of the Poor, the film will open in theatres next Wednesday. He said he and Douglas …

More

About Me

I’m Peter.
Born in 1966.
And living in Belgium.
I’ve been married to Veronika for 10 years already.
And together we have two lovely kids , Karolien and Filip.
And guess what ….. I’m a big movie-fan. Who could have guessed that!
As long as I can remember I’ve been fascinated by the medium film. And the number of movies I’ve seen till now, is even unknown to me.